S. African president anticipates 1.3 pct economic growth in 2017

South African President Jacob Zuma predicted Thursday that the country's economy will grow by 1.3 percent in 2017.

"We anticipate an economic growth rate of 1.3 percent in 2017 following an estimated 0.5 percent in 2016," while the global economic environment remains uncertain, Zuma said.

When delivering the State of the Nation Address in the Parliament, Zuma cited data, indicating that the country has entered a period of recovery, noting that the interaction that started last year between the government, business and labor, known as the CEO Initiative, has been most helpful.

"We were able to address some domestic challenges together. We successfully avoided credit ratings downgrades which would have had significant impact on our economy," the president said.

The labor market environment is showing signs of stabilizing due to cooperation of social partners.

"However, the economy is still not growing fast enough to create the jobs we need. Some of our people, including youth, have not worked for years," Zuma warned.

It is for this reason that the government has decided to focus on a few key areas packaged as the Nine Point Plan to reignite growth so that the economy can create much-needed jobs, he said.

Zuma also outlined steps to be taken to boost economic growth, stressing the importance of radical economic transformation.

"Today, we are starting a new chapter of radical socio-economic transformation. We are saying that we should move beyond words, to practical programs," Zuma said.

While he was addressing, violent protests broke out with hundreds of Economic Freedom Fighters supporters gathering outside the Parliament. They were demanding Zuma to resign, citing his unfitness to hold office due to a series of corruption scandals involving the president himself. Endi